A series of explosions rocked Cotabato City and the provinces of Cotabato and Maguindanao Sunday night, wounding 23 people including Army troopers, the military reported Monday.
Major Arvin Encinas, spokesperson of the Western Mindanao Command (WestMinCom), said the first explosion occurred within the vicinity of a bank and a cathedral at the corner Sinsuat Avenue and Quezon Avenue in Cotabato City around 6 p.m., Sunday.
Encinas said elements of the Philippine Army’s 5th Special Forces Battalion were patrolling the area aboard a military truck when three unidentified suspects lobbed a grenade at them.
The troops engaged the suspects in a brief firefight, but they managed to escape onboard a motorcycle. Encinas described the suspects as teenagers.
In an update, Encinas said 15 individuals, including nine soldiers, were hurt in the attack.
The WestMinCom said they were eyeing the Dawlah Islamiyah (DI) and Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) as possible suspects in the incident.
Around 6:30 p.m., a suspected improvised explosive (IED) device suddenly exploded at Pedro Colina (PC) Hill,
Barangay Rosary Heights 1, also in Cotabato City, about 3.6 kilometers from the site of the first grenade attack.
A civilian, who was just passing by the area, was reportedly wounded in the incident while authorities said the suspects were also riding a motorcycle.
Two explosions also occurred at Barangay Poblacion in Libungan, North Cotabato, between 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. where at least six civilians were hurt.
The last explosion was reported at a site of a trade fair at Sitio Tekwa National Highway in North Upi, Maguindanao, around 9 p.m., where a civilian was wounded.
The military was coordinating with the police in investigating the series of explosions, which happened more than a week before the martial law in the entire Mindanao island is lifted.
Two years since its implementation, the martial law will be lifted in Mindanao island on December 31. (Martin Sadongdong)